10 reasons to love Kale.

 I LOVE kale … can not get enough of it!!!!
I crave it. I eat it or juice it almost daily. The health benefits of this super food will have you craving it daily too! 

 Here are 10 reasons to love KALE! 

1. Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat.
2. Kale is high in iron. 
3.  Kale is high in Vitamin K. 
4. Kale is filled with powerful antioxidants. 
5. Kale is a great anti-inflammatory food. 
6. Kale is great for cardiovascular support. 
7. Kale is high in Vitamin A.
8.  Kale is high in Vitamin C. 
9.  Kale is high in calcium. 
10.  Kale is a great detox food. 

Ok to get you started here are 2
great recipes!  One for snacking & a juice!



Ok to get you started here are 2
great recipes to get you started!
 One for snacking & a juice!
Kale Chips - I love potato chips, so these are a great replacement !
    1 bunch of Kale leaves
    1Tablespoon of Olive Oil
    2 Table spoons nutritional yeast
    salt & pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350, and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Wash the Kale and with a knife or kitchen shears remove the leaves from the thick stem - or just pull them off with your hands. Tear them into Medium size pieces. Dry the kale. In a large mixing bowl addd half of the kale, sprinkle 1/2 of the olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt & pepper and mix well. Repeat with the rest of the kale. Place on a baking sheet or two. Bake until the edges are crisp, slightly brown but NOT burnt.  ENJOY !!!
Green Lemon-aide
2 apples
1/2 bunch of kale
1 cucumber
1/2 lemon
 Juice and enjoy!

Kale Chips - I love potato chips, so these are a great replacement !
    1 bunch of Kale leaves
    1Tablespoon of Olive Oil
    2 Table spoons nutritional yeast
    salt & pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350, and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Wash the Kale and with a knife or kitchen shears remove the leaves from the thick stem - or just pull them off with your hands. Tear them into Medium size pieces. Dry the kale. In a large mixing bowl addd half of the kale, sprinkle 1/2 of the olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt & pepper and mix well. Repeat with the rest of the kale. Place on a baking sheet or two. Bake until the edges are crisp, slightly brown but NOT burnt.  ENJOY !!!


Green Lemon-aide
2  green apples
1/2 bunch of kale
1 cucumber
1/2 lemon
 Juice, add some ice if you would like. Serves 2 ENJOY!!!

Okra to be or not to be

  This is a post from another blog, I had, but let me just say I am so excited for it to me Okra season soon! I loved the Okra so much it is now one of my favorite things to grow!

Let me say okra has creeped me out for years, I am from the South, grew-up with people eating the slimy, green, squishy vegetable… but I would not & did not.
Yesterday my friend Amy & I went to the 12th South Farmers Market (http://www.12southfarmersmarket.com/) , I love to buy from local farms and eat what ever is in season, personally think it’s great for our bodies. We went by to see one of my favorite vendors www.delvinfarms.com. Cindy Devlin had some beautiful kale, peppers, squashes and some simply gorgeous PURPLE OKRA. I mentioned how lovely it was & started to head out with my bunches of kale, (for kale chips, kale salad, I heart kale). Cindy , asked if I had ever had roasted okra… I said no, & made that it’s gross face. She simply said “It’s not slimy, it’s crunchy” She had me… I think I love french fries because they crunch.
Pre-heat your over to a super hot 475 +
1 bunch of FRESH okra, either purple or green wash & dry. Place on a baking sheet & drizzle with Organic Extra Virgin Oil Olive, sprinkle with some sea salt & pepper, mix them all up with your hands because its so fun to use your hands and lay them single file on the sheet. Pop them into the oven in for 6 minutes flip them over stick them back in the oven and let them sizzle, thinking our cooked for about 18 mins.
As I pulled them out my hubs said, I don’t really like Okra, but I’ll try it…
Well, we inhaled them, I barley got to grab a picture of the finished okra, that turned a deep green as they cooked. On Saturday when I hit up another Farmers Market, I’ll be grabbing more okra!!!!

Dealing with Allergies, Holistically.

                 

   

            It’s that time of year again, where our nose is running, our eyes are puffy. It’s ALLERGY season. Living in Nashville, which is know as the allergy capital of the United States, or so I am told. It’s also the most beautiful place ever. I have never seen so many shades of green!!!

       Last year, my allergies where horrible. Everything from double ear infections, to a 4 month sinus infection. It was HORRIBLE. I think I tried 6 different antibiotics, 3 different allergy medicines, and 2 different nasal sprays. It sucked. I was so thankful for a really great ENT Mark A. Williams, M.D., Ph.D. and his team where life savers! You can check out his practice here ( http://www.entson.net). 

This year I knew my body, mind and spirit could not go thru all of that again. Nor could my wallet. I was spending about $350 a month on medicine, tissues, and everything else. This year a friend introduced me to doTerra Essential Oils. I bought them to try on my mom, for her heart (I’ll blog about that soon). Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. dōTERRA (CPTG) Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils represent the safest, purest, and most beneficial essential oils available today. In addition to their intrinsic benefits to plants and being beautifully fragrant to people, essential oils have been used throughout history in many cultures for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits. But I knew I needed to try them on me first. After a week I realized that I didn’t need allergy medicine once a day, I thought maybe it was just the fact that it was simi- nice out. When we where with my mom I realized I had zero post-nasal drip for weeks. The only thing I had done differently was rubbing the oils on my feet morning and night. 

                                                                                          The Holy Trinity:

                                                                     

      We got home and I finally ran out of a few of the oils, I suddenly had an ear ache and a runny nose. I was down for the count.  I immediately ordered more lavender, lemon and peppermint.  I treated my earache with Melaleuca and oregano, just on the out side of my ear and just a tiny drop of each. My earache was gone in days.  Once I got the holy trinity back in my hands as I like to call it. I used 5 drops of each in a shot glass with a tiny bit of water, 3 times a day. After about 2 days, I was able to only use the trinity once a day. Now after a month, I use it only every other day. It’s amazing! I feel so blessed and thankful, that I not only found a natural way to help with my allergies, it is even more cost effective than traditional medicine.  ($30 a month verse $350 a month)

I would love to tell you more about our journey with essential oils , health & healing! Feel free to email me : rebeccasmith9@gmail.com  You can learn more about the oils here. Also I don’t suggest taking essential oil internally unless they are (CPTG) Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®.